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Terra Nova, by Ted Tally |  2011 marks the 100th year anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's fateful mission to Antarctica.
In remembrance of Scott and his dedicated crew, Body in Space presented Ted Tally's play, Terra Nova. Terra Nova is a chilling depiction of the final days of Scott's Antarctic exploration. It plays with time and space, taking us with Scott as his mind flits to his wife, to his competition and back to the icy white out of Antarctica. A dramatic insight into the physical and mental conditions Scott and his team were working within.
Body in Space presented the Antarctic landscape at Fairfield House in a marquee in the depths of winter. The audience was invited to rug up warm, wrap their hands around a hot drink and to follow Scott as he navigated his crew through the unforgiving terrain of Antarctica.
Director
Lisa Norriss
Producers
Daniel Allan
Lisa Norriss
Costumes/ Set/ Props
Bridget Sanders
Cast
Daniel Allan
Douglas Brooks
Laura Irish
Charles Hindley
Kulai Nakaroti
Roger Sanders
Luke Walton
Many thanks to Catherine Brosnahan, Fairfield House and the FOOFers, Creative Communities Nelson, Just Costumes, Hire Pool, Bay Landscapes and Talleys. |
| REVIEW: True Tale is Fine Tragedy | 
Terra Nova. Fairfield House, May 27, 7pm. Reviewed by Margot Hannigan
Terra Nova is a play by American playwright Ted Tally that dramatises the disastrous final days of Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition in 1911. It is a historic event that has always played on my imagination. How could a few men endure such impossible conditions without modern technology? And why?
Theatre company Body in Space have re-enacted this psychological drama with great intensity and conviction. It is the best serious drama I have seen in Nelson for a very long time. The white tent provides a realistic set and an outdoor intimacy. A simple sled in one corner – piled with boxes, one with an ominous red cross, and a tripod for camera equipment – creates the comfortless environment. Sound effects of glacial winds, trickling water and the folk tune Walley Walley evoke the isolation of the South Pole and the yearning for home.
But the success of the drama rests entirely on the acting. Charles Hindley conveyed Scott's self-delusion, guilt and absurd patriotism with imperial tone of voice and expressive eye movement that left me feeling truly sorry for him. His hallucinations of home and his imaginary conversations with his rival Amundsen were cleverly evoked by Laura Irish as his wife Kathleen and Kulan Nakaroti as Amundsen. Douglas Brooks' Welsh accent and enactment of the pathetic death of Evans was exceptionally well-played, as was Roger Sanders' role as the merciful Doctor Wilson, who opposed Scott's order of euthanasia. I loathed the heartless, calculated professionalism of Oates, who walked away from the group to die of exposure, so dramatically played by Luke Walton. Producer Daniel Allan also won the hearts of the audience as the Scottish Bowers, whose humour defused conflict. It had all the ingredients of genuine tragedy.
Terra Nova runs till June 4, and I cannot recommend it too highly. Be prepared for inclement weather. Thank you, Fairfield House, for fulfilling the promise of serious outdoor theatre. |
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